Sharks 5, Panthers 2
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Five different skaters scored goals and back-up goalie Alex Stalock won his first game of the year as the San Jose Sharks beat the Florida Panthers 5-2 at SAP Center on Thursday.
Stalock stopped 31 shots while getting his third start of the year in favor of starter Martin Jones, who got pulled after two periods from Tuesday's loss. Stalock, who was 0-2 with a 3.94 goals-against average and .847 save percentage, won for the first time since April 1 last season.
The Sharks scored first for only the second time in eight games, then scored the next one for good measure. However, the Panthers managed one just past the halfway point of the opening period to trail by one at the first intermission.
Defenseman Brent Burns was the benefactor of a giveaway by Florida defenseman Dmitry Kulikov, and he promptly fired his fourth goal of the season from the right point past goaltender Al Montoya at 6:37 with center Joe Thornton providing a screen in front.
Sharks rookie left winger Joonas Donskoi, who narrowly missed capping a tic-tac-toe passing play before the Burns goal, influenced a rebound with a screen in front of Montoya, got knocked down in the crease, got back up and punched home his second goal at 9:26 on a goal-mouth scramble for a 2-0 San Jose lead.
A third consecutive goal was scored at even strength when Florida center Vincent Trocheck pounced on a turnover by Sharks defenseman Paul Martin following a defensive zone faceoff. Trocheck swept his fifth goal of the season past Stalock at 10:54 to make it 2-1.
The Sharks scored twice and had another apparent goal wiped out when video review confirmed a coach's challenge for offside as the hosts took advantage of a tiring Panthers team in the middle period.
Left winger Patrick Marleau scored his 460th career goal on a great individual effort 3:46 into the second period to give San Jose a 3-1 lead. Marleau drove the left side, ducked his head inside Alex Petrovic when the Florida defenseman reached with his stick and backhanded his fourth of the season past Panthers goalie Al Montoya.
Florida converted 40 seconds into its first power play when left winger Brandon Pirri one-timed a cross-ice feed from defenseman Brian Campbell following a faceoff win at 14:06 to make it 3-2.
Following a disallowed goal, the Sharks struck again at 19:00 when Marc-Edouard Vlasic capped a three-on-two break by one-timing a Nikolay Goldobin feed past Montoya for San Jose's first goal this season by a defenseman other than Burns.
San Jose center Chris Tierney scored his second goal of the season into an empty-net at 18:54 while Thornton earned his third assist of the game.
NOTES: The Sharks recalled LW Nikolai Goldobin and RW Micheal Haley from AHL affiliate San Jose while assigning LW Barclay Goodrow to the Barracuda. Goldobin joined the third line, forcing LW Matt Nieto to the fourth line where Haley lined up on the opposite wing -- replacing RW Mike Brown, who is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury -- with C Bryan Lerg in the middle. ... The Panthers cap a three-game road trip on Saturday at Los Angeles. ... Florida C Dave Bolland sustained a hand injury late in Wednesday's game at Anaheim and did not play Thursday. D Steven Kampfer and C Connor Brickley were Florida's healthy scratches while C Ben Smith, D Karl Stollery and Brown did not dress for San Jose.